Batman (2014)
Batman ''(sometimes called ''The New Batman) is a 2014 superhero film directed by Zack Synder, produced by Emma Thomas / Deborah Synder / Zack Synder, and written by David S. Goyer. It stars Michael Fassbender, Colin Farrell, Bill Nighy, Kate Mara, Christopher Walken, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, and Danny Glover. It is the first film in the Zack Synder Quadrilogy. Before The Dark Knight Rises ''even released, information leaked about a second reboot of the Batman series to be in development. During September of 2012, Zack Synder confirmed that he would be directing and co-writing the new Batman film after finishing his other DC superhero movie, ''Man of Steel. Christopher Nolan did not return, but his wife Emma Thomas stayed on as producer. Zack brought his good friend David S. Goyer to write the screenplay and co-write the story, along with his wife Deborah, who he asked to co-produce the film with him and Emma. Batman ''received critical-acclaim and scored about $524 million worldwide, as well as being nominated for three Oscars (Best Director (Zack Synder), Best Supporting Actor (Colin Farrell), and Best Picture). It won one Oscar nomination, and that was Best Visual Effects. 'Cast' *Michael Fassbender as 'Bruce Wayne/Batman' The founder of ''WayneTech ''who becomes a vigilante known as Batman to avenge his parents death. He decides to continue being Batman and becomes the protector of Gotham City. Michael Fassbender was casted after Zack Synder saw him in X-Men: First Class. *Colin Farrell as 'Thomas "Tommy" Elliot/Hush' Bruce Wayne's childhood friend who hated his parents and attempted to kill them when he was young. After Bruce's father manages to save Tommy's mother, Tommy cuts all ties with Bruce. As an adult, he becomes a famous, rich, and greedy plastic surgeon who secretly works for Carmine "The Roman" Falcone as a "mob doctor". After seeing Batman as a serious threat, he gives himself surgery that enhances his overall power so he can kill Batman.'' He is the main villain of the film. After filming the remake of Total Recall, Colin Farrell auditioned for the role. They instead chose Michael C. Hall, but he soon dropped out, so they called up Colin and gave him the role. *Bill Nighy as Carmine "The Roman" Falcone The don of the infamous Gotham City-based Falcone Crime Family (which is nicknamed The Roman Empire). Batman assists the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) in taking down his empire, which is flooded with drugs and weapons. He is the secondary villain. Deborah Synder was a fan of Bill's work, so she called him and offered him the role. After he auditioned, he waited two weeks before Deborah called to confirm he got the role. Bill stated "'' ''It's exciting. It's good to show the public that I'm not just a comedic actor. I'm able to take on these serious type of roles." *Kate Mara as Vicki Vale A journalist and reporter for the Gotham Gazette. She is told to report on the activities of Batman, which is the reason the two meet. She then becomes a love interest after Bruce develops a crush on her. Naomi Watts auditioned for the role before Kate, but Kate was still chosen to play Vicki Vale. *Christopher Walken as Alfred Pennyworth Bruce's butler and father-figure who took care of Bruce after his parents were killed. He is one of the only people who know's that Bruce is Batman. After Christopher Walken was casted, Zack stated "It's so cool working with him. A Hollywood-legend. In this film. Wow. Just wow..." *Clark Gregg as James Gordon GCPD's new commissioner and Bruce's friend. He is another person who knows Bruce's alter ego and assists him in certain situations. Clark was the first to be casted into the film. *Paul Bettany as Warren White/Great White Shark A smart, devious, and manipulative former associate of Carmine Falcone who was kept in a meat locker for two weeks (a command made by Carmine). Because of this, his skin turned a pale white, and the frostbite claimed his nose, lips, hair, and several of his fingers, leaving him very much resembling a great white shark and driven partially mad. He starts his own criminal organization and teams up with Hush to kill Bruce Wayne/Batman. Paul Bettany was the first choice to play Great White Shark. *Danny Glover as Lucius Fox ' The man who took over as CEO of ''WayneTech while Bruce left Gotham City for six years. He supplies Bruce with armor and weapons for his Batman-persona. Danny stated that he may only be in the first two or three films to do his age and health. *Nathan Lane as 'Harvey Bullock ' A dirty cop who is hired by Carmine Falcone to sabotage Jim Gordon's career. To do so, he murders a random citizen and pins it on Jim. Nathan stated that this is the only film in this series he will be in. *Willem Dafoe as 'Joe Chill ' A low-level mugger who murdered Bruce's parents in front of his eyes. Although a minor character, he plays a very important role in the formation of Batman. Willem said that it is planned for him to appear in each film of the series. *Ioan Gruffudd as '''Thomas Wayne Bruce's loving father who (along with his wife) was murdered in front of Bruce's eyes at the back of Monarch Theatre. He was world-known surgeon, which made him one of the most famous and richest men in Gotham City. Like Joe Chill, Thomas Wayne is set to appear in each film in flashbacks. *Claire Danes as Martha Wayne ' The wife of Thomas Wayne and loving mother of Bruce who was killed with Thomas in front of Bruce at the back of Monarch Theatre. Both their deaths inspire Bruce to become Batman. She is set to appear (with Thomas) in flashbacks in the future films. *Idris Elba as 'Hamilton Hill ' The corrupt mayor of Gotham City. This character will only be in the first two films. 'Plot The film begins with the heist of an armored van taking place. The robbers, a group of five men, take what seems like five-million dollars, then shoot the officers that were driving and protecting the van. As they drive away, something sharp is thrown at the front tires of their car, making the vehicle flip upside down. As they try to free themselves from the wreck, one of the men notice someone in a bat suit approaching them. The screen then goes black and shows the title of the film, Batman. The film then goes back three months, showing Bruce Wayne (Michael Fassbender) being picked up by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Christopher Walken), at Gotham City International Airport. Bruce had left six years earlier in order to escape the stress and corruption that flooded his life. He left his company, WayneTech, in the hands of Lucius Fox (Danny Glover) while he was gone. Alfred begins to tell Bruce that Carmine Falcone (Bill Nighy), nicknamed The Roman, has grown increasingly powerful in Gotham. Also, a former associate of Carmine, Warren White (Paul Bettany), has left to form his own criminal empire after being extremely deformed by being left in a meat locker for two weeks. Alfred mentions that Warren now has a nickname due to his deformity, The Great White Shark. Once they arrive to the Wayne Manor, Bruce heads to his large basement, and begins to remove everything there. He also begins to have flashbacks of what seems to be him training in Shanghai. He starts to talk to an unknown man, and tells the man that he is not just training to make peace with himself, but to train himself for what he wishes to do when he gets back to Gotham City. The man replies by saying that as long as the martial arts skills are used for a good reason, then Bruce does not need to worry about it being wrong. More To Come... 'Production' After The Dark Knight Rises ''was announced to be the last film in Christopher Nolan's series, DC Comics expressed interest in creating a new Batman series, stating "he's the guy people just can't get enough of." In fall of 2012, when ''Man of Steel ''began receiving major publicity, Zack Synder said he would love to direct a new Batman film. He said "Superman is awesome. But I honestly think this is just a one-time thing for me. You can't really express a dark side in Superman, since he is a goody-goody, but with Batman... Well, that's a different story." Within a month, it was officially announced that Zack Synder would be directing a new Batman film. Also, he and his good friend David S. Goyer wrote the story. They began on October 15th, 2012, and finished about three weeks later. 'Development' Soon after the story was finished, it was green-lit for production. Emma Thomas signed on to be producer of the film (the same role she had with her husband's film series), as well as Zack's wife Deborah who he asked to join. Zack also contributed to being producer and is credited as one. David S. Goyer also wrote the screenplay. The initial development began in December 2012, and ended a year later on November 29th, 2013. 'Filming' After a teaser poster was released, Zack announced that ''Batman ''wouldn't be filmed in 3D, but rather in regular 2D and IMAX. Filming concluded on January 30th, 2012. 'Marketing' The film's official website (www.thenewbatman.com) was created on February 2nd, 2012. It had multiple features, including character biographies, development photos, etc. Coca-Cola was a sponsor and put unique codes under cans of Coke that when entered on the film's official website could unlock short scenes from the film. Ubisoft Romania developed ''Zack Synder's Batman: The Game, a third-person action-adventure video game for PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Arcade, published by Ubisoft. It was released on July 10th, 2012 in North America, and on July 12th in other parts of the world for $14.99. It received positive reviews, earning 79% on RottenTomatoes and 76/100 on MetaCritic. 'Release' 'Box-Office' Batman ''had a midnight release on July 13th, 2014, where it earned $27.6 million. It soon earned $96.4 million in the first week, and continued with great ticket sales. At the end, it received $338,421,769 in North America and $165,698,178 in other countries, summing up to a worldwide earning of $504,119,947. 'Critical Response' ''Batman ''received critical-acclaim, earning a score of 92% on RottenTomatoes and a 89/100 on MetaCritic. Reviewers praised the visual effects, Michael Fassbender's surprisingly great performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and the interesting new take on the origin of Batman. The only criticism was on the choice of the villains, who viewers said were "original", but lacked any "wow factor." ''IGN gave the movie a 10 out of 10, stating "sure it's impossible to forget Christopher Nolan's amazing take on Batman, but this new take on the caped crusader has so much potential that we just can't wait for the future follow-ups." Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, and personally signaled out Michael for wonderful performance as Bruce Wayne by saying "Christian Bale was amazing. So was Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton. Now Mr. Fassbender can be added to that list." Michael responded by thanking Roger and calling him "the movie-Einstein." There was some mixed reception however, an example being the review that came from the Daily Mail. They praised most of the cast, but said that this film lacked anything exciting, unlike the other Batman prologue films. 'Photos' Batman2014 Teaser.jpeg|A www.thenewbatman.com poster, promoting the film's official website. Batman2014FanPoster.JPG|A fan-made poster that received praise by fans due to it's "old school" look. Batman2014 Poster2.PNG|Another fan-made poster of the caped crusader. Batman2014 Concept Art.jpg|A Batman sketch made during the development of the film. Batman2014 Poster.jpg|The Canadian Batman Poster 'Sequels' Zack Synder planned for there to be a series of four Batman ''films. The three sequels names were announced to be ''Batman II, Batman Revelations, ''and ''Batman Legacy. Category:PG-13 Category:Films Category:Zack Synder Quadrilogy Category:Movies